Now I will be the first to admit that I can be quite pedantic when it comes to satay .... and with good reason I think. Nobody likes a dry satay. So, today I am sharing with you my tricks to make sure your satay is perfect every time.
Don't use too lean meat. We need the fats in the meats to keep the satay juicy. For example, choose slightly streaked pork chops or chicken thigh fillet. They have just enough fat to do the job.
Dice your meat into 2x3 cm rectangular pieces. Thread them lengthwise onto the skewer, making sure they are snuggly touching and not exposing any bamboo. The same goes for the pointy end of the stick, keep it covered with meat. By doing this the bamboo won't burn during roasting, ensuring there is no bitter after taste to your meat.
Pre-soak the skewers in water for 2 hours so they don't burn during roasting.
Roast your satay's in 2 turns. For the 1st roast, sear the satays on all sides. At this point they are not cooked through. For the 2nd roast, dip them through a marinade (see next point) and roast again. Resist the urge to over cook, in this roast they really only need slightly longer than the first roast. Remember the meat has been diced quite small so they really don't need long to cook through.
Make 2 marinades. The 1st is for the 8-hour or overnight marinate. The second is to dip the satay's into for the 2nd roast. This offers a little extra moisture for roasting, extra flavour, and a gorgeous sticky layer around your meat.
Use a barbeque grill or charcoal grill, and not a barbeque hot plate. Satays are to be roasted and a hot plate will burn the marinade causing a bitter flavour.
Satay freezes well. Make satay ready to eat. Portion and wrap in a double layer of aluminium foil, label and pop them in the freezer where they will keep for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, pre-heat an oven at 150 degrees celsius. Place the frozen portion of satay, single layered if warming more than one portion, and heat for 20-25 minutes. Tear open the foil and heat for another 20 minutes until "dried", warm and ready to eat.
Lastly .... one more thing. Living in Holland our winters can be cold and the urge for satay knows no seasons. I can't count the number of times I have sat outside on a wintery day, sporting a woolly beany, at my charcoal grill roasting satay. Yes, quite a sight (not)! I usually have a drink of something with me to warm me up 😉 . Anyways, a few years back I caved in and went "electric". I bought an electric grill. What a fabulous invention! I place it on my stove top under the exhaust and my 30 satays (which is about a kilo of meat) are roasted in about 20 minutes. Ok for sure, nothing beats a barbeque roasted satay, and I do miss the charcoal flavour, but they really are just as delicious.